Important advice has been offered to Kaizer Chiefs' veteran goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune amid talk of him possibly retiring.
Last week, Khune came out to say he has plans to continue playing, despite Chiefs' announcement in June that the one-year contract he signed at the time was his last as a player.
At the time, Chiefs stated on their official website, in part, "Kaizer Chiefs' longest serving player and club captain, Itumeleng Khune, has been handed a new contract which will see him play for Amakhosi for one final season, taking his professional career to two decades."
While Khune is seemingly still keen on playing, he did confirm that he would rather retire at the club that he has served with dedication all these years than to go elsewhere when his playing contract expires, speaking to journalists.
Legendary former goalkeeper Innocent Mayoyo believes that Khune can still play for another five years or so.
The Good
"He (Khune) is still young for a goalkeeper, and if I can just give you an example about myself, I retired at 39. I played from 1988 up to 2005. Maybe the difference between me and him is that he played for one club all his career. But as we all know, football is a game of records after all. If I were to advise him on what to do, I would say he should go on. He can still go on for another four or five years, in my opinion. All he needs right now is to focus and start working as if he is 22. He must focus on using his God-given talent and nothing else because there will always be something to say as football is a game of opinions. I feel that whatever he has done for the country, he can still do it again. It's a matter of mindset. He is an experienced player and he can't be disturbed by external forces," said Mayoyo.
The Bad
"Unfortunately, there isn't any goalkeeper on earth who can do well when the team is not doing well. Imagine a goalkeeper conceding only one goal and the team goes on to lose. If a goalkeeper has conceded one goal, the team must win 3-1. Surely, in 90 minutes there maybe be that one mistake made by a goalkeeper and if that has to result in a goal, yes, so be it. But the other players must also score," he said.
The Ugly
"I don't even want to entertain any talk about Khune that in 2010 he was already in his prime and that in 2023 he is still playing. He doesn't put himself in the team. In a team, there is a goalkeeping department and there is a goalkeeper coach and the rest of the technical team and they decide these things during the week already and make decisions. There is no goalkeeper in the world who can perform well when the team is not doing well. How do you win games as a goalkeeper? You can only win a game as a goalkeeper if your team has already scored a goal," he added.
'He can go on beyond 40'
"How many saves did he make on the weekend against Pirates? He saved more than one but is getting judged on the one that he conceded. If we are talking about age, as a goalkeeper he can go on beyond 40, especially for him who has been in a good system and was properly developed and he's got the experience," concluded Mayoyo.
For how long should Khune still go?
